Shoes for golfers



Oct. 14, 1958 J. H. SCHLESINGER 2,855,704

SHOES FOR GOLFERS Filed May 8, 1957 2 sheets-sheet 1 INVENTOR. L/OSEPH A. Semis/Nate A r TOPNEV.

Oct. 14, 1958 Filed May 8, 1957 J. H. SCHLESINGER I 2,855,704

SHOES FOR GOLFERS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR, Moss/=11 5' 0/45 s/A/seflg ATTO NEY,

United States Patent SHOES FOR GOLFERS Joseph H. Schlesinger, New York, N. Y., assignor to Eagle Chemical Co., New York, N. Y.

Application May 8, 1957, Serial No. 657,978

4 Claims. (Cl. 362.5)

The present invention relatesvto means for a golfer to obtain a firm support for the correct foot position and control of the golf swing when taking a stance for play and particularly takes the form of what the golfer is to stand on in order to attain such correct position. The teachings of this invention are preferably incorporated in shoe structure worn by the golfer and of course concerns the construction of the bottom member of the shoe.

This application is a continuation-in-part of my application bearing Serial No. 609,762, filed September 13, 1956, now abandoned.

-It is authoratively accepted that to obtain a good swing of the golf club and to obtain proper balance and control, all of the following conditions must exist, namely:

(a) The players feet must be firmly anchored to the ground;

(b) The weight of the body must be applied downwardly through the heel regions;

(c) The knees must be bent towards each other, and

(d) The knees must be bent a bit forward in order to be flexed, otherwise the body would be stiff if the knees were merely bent towards each other.

It is therefore the principal object of this invention to provide novel and improved structure for the bottom members of shoes by which a golfer can easily and with certainty obtain support for the proper position for his play when taking a stance, be firmly anchored to the ground without any chance of wobble, attain the proper angularity of his feet and same will be automatically maintained even by a novice, avoid standing on mere fulcrum edges, afford substantial supporting surfaces for the feet when at rest for play and afford normal walking.

I also provide another optional construction for golf shoes applicable to all forms of normal footwear, which I will now explain.

When a golfer takes his position for play in golf shoes heretofore in use, the presence of heels raises the feet at heel region. It is best that this be avoided because the heel throws the weight forwardly upon the anterior part of the foot. Furthermore, when a golfer took his stance and position for play, what would happen was that he would dig the inner sharp edges of the heels of his shoes into the turf whereby the undersides of his feet would be slanted so that they would be in downwardly inwardly convergent relation. Not that he did this knowingly, but such would occur if he assumed the correct position for play as hereinbefore described. It is evident that each foot was really standing on said sharp heel edge which acted as a fulcrum. Thus, standing on fulcrums instead of being supported on substantial surfaces, he was subject to wobble. He could never be firmly anchored to ground.

Therefore, further objects of the present invention are to provide novel and improved construction for the bottom members of glofers shoes which will avoid the occurrence of the aforementioned undesirable conditions.

Various shoes have been proposed to throw the weight of the body downwardly through heel region and to give angularity to the feet, but you could not walk in them except with discomfort, because for walking the feet must rest on horizontal surfaces on the bottom member of the shoe when on the ground. The heretofore proposed shoes made no such provision. -It is therefore another object of this invention to provide novel and improved golfers shoes to accomplish the favorable conditions and to obviate the objectionable occurrences which I have discussed, and further it is important to note that my present invention is applicable to all forms of normal walking shoes, sandals, clogs and the like, with certain alterations in structure of the bottom member as taught herein.

Still another object thereof is to provide novel and improved construction for the bottom member of golfers shoes for the purposes set forth, which are simple in structure, easy and cheap to manufacture and efficient for the accomplishment of the functions for which they are designed.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent as this disclosure proceeds.

For the practice of this invention, one form it may assume is to have shoes with heel-less full soles of substantially uniform thickness except that the heel regions are so formed that when such full soles, except the heel regions thereof, are resting on level ground, the undersides of the heel regions are in upward convergent relation. It is evident that said convergent surfaces are off the ground, but the outer side edges of the heel regions respectively, and the remainder of the soles are in contact with the ground. The upper surfaces of such full soles in such position, are of course horizontal. It is on these upper surfaces that the feet of the wearer rest either directly or on an insole in each shoe. In this position, the shoes afford normal walking conditions because as to each foot, the body is supported as in all walking shoes, namely by the outer part of the heel, the base of the great toe, the ball of the foot and along the outer botom edge lane of the foot.

The mandatory requirements taught by this invention can be attained by having any otherwise normal walking shoes which are with or without heels, so made that the sloping surface of the underside of the heel regions of the bottom members, are upwardly convergent.

To assume the stance for play, the player sets his feet apart a distance experience dictates for the particular shot to be made or as he wants to do in such circumstances, with heel region nearer to each other than the toe regions. Now, as the player takes his stance, the sloping heel surfaces automatically come into contact with the ground. This automatically brings the weight of the body downwardly through the inner side of the heel regions and the angulation of the feet in such stance, automatically causes the knees to be bent towards each other and then because of the rigidity imposed on the body, the player automatically bends the knees forward a bit whereupon the feet are flexed. So merely coming down so that the heel regions slant surfaces bear on the ground, the player is automatically made to assume the correct position for golf play and firm footing is attained.

It is to be noted that the axis of tilt in relation to each shoe, is the line joining the region of the base of the great toe and the outer high side of the heel region. Also, as each inner heel region goes down, the outer sides of the soles are lifted off the ground at the regions of the small toes respectively. This latter lift further assures that the weight of the body is downwardly through the heel regions, because the heels of the feet are given a downwardly inwardly slope.

Thus in play position, the foot is supported not on a mere fulcrum line, but on substantial surf-aces; each foot being supported across substantially the entire heel and at the base of the great toe. The axis lines, in both walking and playing positions, are always horizontal and on such full sole. undersurface of its heel region on any flat surface, the

3 the ground, but the heels and soles of the feet in each instance rest on substantial surfaces and not on a mere axis line. In play, the body is in a firm and solid position, never wobbly on the ground.

To make walking comfortable, the remote anterior toe region of each sole is rounded upwardly. Although in manufacture, the soles are flat, the'toe end becomes rounded upwardly upon use of the shoes. In the drawings herein, the shoes are shown with this rounding already effected.

In the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification, similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Fig. l shows the outer side of the left shoe in walking position on the ground. The bottom member of this shoe and that of its right mate, embody the teachings of this invention. Such bottom member as here shown, is a heel-les s full sole.

Fig.) is a rear view. of'Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 shows the inner side of the shoe of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 shows the outer side of said left shoe in playing position.

Figs. 5 and 6 are rear views of thepair of shoes in playing position.

Fig. 7 shows a front view of either shoe in walking position, and in particular, this view is a section taken at line 7, 7 in Fig. 1.

Fig. 8 shows the underside of the sole of the left shoe.

Fig. 9 is similar to Fig. 8, but of slightly modified construction.

Fig. 10 is a geometric showing ofthe scheme of the construction of the pair of soles taught herein and is included as an aid for explaining this invention.

,Figs. 11, 12. and 13 are like Figs. 1, 2 and 3 respectively, except that the bottom member of the shoe has a heel which is fashioned in accordance with teachings of this invention.

In the drawings, the numeral 15 designates generally theright shoe and numeral 16 its left mate, whose heelless full soles are denoted generally by the numerals 17 and 18 respectively. These full soles are of substantially uniform thickness, topsurface fiat, except their heel regions which are tapered so that the undersurface of each heel region slopes upwardly fro-m, or. substantially from the outer lateral edge to the inner lateral edge of When the shoe is resting on the sloping angle exterior the shoe made by the inner lateral face thereof with such flat surface, is less than such angle is when the shoe is upright.

It is evident that the sloping undersurface of each heel region is off the ground when the remainder of the full soles are in horizontal position resting on level ground and of course, said surfaces indieatedrespectively bythe numerals 19, 2d are in upward convergent relation. It is also evident that these shoes are suitable fonnormal walking. To aid this, the

anterior regions are curved upwardly forwardly a bit as indicatedat 21. This occurs of itself in use though manufactured flat. In walking, all parts of the feet supporting the weight of the body, are on firm support on the tophorizontal surface of each of the full soles, when ,the shoes or either ofthern are on the ground. Definitely, in walking or normal standing, the weight of the body is never directed in a manner to bring the shoes 15, 16 to rest on the heel regions undersurfaces 19, 20, because in normal walking andstanding, the body is forward somewhat and its weight is suported on the heel, particularly on the outer side of the heel and on the base of the great toe and across to the little toe region. It is evident that the heel-less full soles 17, 18 herein employed, are resting on the ground and are of substantially uniform height from the ground at all said regions of support when theshoes are set on level ground.

In orderto make it easier to visualize the mode of operation, lrcferto Fig. 10. Herc we look downonsalt members shown in perspective, which follow the scheme of structure Offllfi'hfiCl-lfiSS full soles 17 and 1'8 and are designated respectively by the numerals 17a and 18a generally. They are shown in position deemed on level ground, with the heel regions nearer to each other than their toe regions, as is usual in taking a stance for golf play. We may consider .the player standing on these in stocking feet, one foot on each of said members, and if desired, strapped theretorespectively in any suitable manner so that said members may serve as ,a pair of clogs. The topsurfacesZZ, '23 arejflat andhorizontal, the heel regions undersurfaces 19a,'20a slope upwardly from the-outer lateral side to. the inner lateral side of said members respectively, and of course, such sloping surfaces are off the ground and are in upward convergent relation. Except as deviated at the heel regions, said members 17a, 15a are of uniform thickness.

To get into proper position for swing, the playersets his feet astride asinFig. 10, presses down on the, heel regions, whereupon the undersurfaces 1962,2011 touch the ground. If the player did this with the shoes 15, 16 on him, the rear view of such shoes would be as shown in Figs. 5 and 6 and the edge of the soles at the joint of the little toe regions at the outside of the ball of each feet will be lifted off the ground as shown at 26.

When the player wearing myimprovedgolf shoes, takes his stance for play, hisfeet are slanting sideways with the toes outwardly, away from each other a greater distance apart than the heels. This position of the feet, concentrates the bodyweight at the. inner side. of the heels. Since the heel region tapers towards the inner side of the full-sole of the shoe and is oif the ground before the player takes his stance, it will be automatically forced to the ground by the concentrated weight on the inner side of the heels as soon as the player had correctlyplaced his feetfor thestance. Such movement of each shoe is about an axis linewhich is diagonally across from the base of the great toe to the outer side of the heel. region. Simultaneously, thelittle toe region is. swung off the ground about such axis. Therefore, as the inwardly downwardly position of the heel of the foot causesthe concentration of the weight on the inner side of the heels, the player is compelled to assume a firm anchorage to the ground on the downwardly inwardly slopingplanes, which serve as a firm seat for the supportand control of the body weight for the stroke of the ball.

Not only is the weight directed as mentioned, but automaticallyalso, the player is compelled to bendhis knees inward towards each other and because of the resulting rigidity of the body, the player immediately bends his knees forward a bit in order to be flexed. He stands with his feet firmly anchored to the ground, on substantial surfaces and each foot is supported at the region of the base of-the great toe as wellas on the full surfaces 19a, 20a, or 19, 2t) as the casernay be. There is no chance'for wobble. The axis lines 24, 25- are diagonally across the full soles and each extends from the region of the base of the great toe to'the outer sideheel region and are always horizontal and extend across and along each foot, but they are .not the only supports-for the feet as was explained to be the case when ordinary shoes are used.

Of importance to note is that there is no heel which as in ordinary shoes causes the weight of the body to be thrown forward and .that when the player merely sets down to rest on the slanting undersurfaces of the heel regions, he is automatically compelled into the proper and firm position for golf play, without any chances for wobblebecause the body is firmly anchored to the ground when in the position shown in Figs. 5 and 6, resting on substantial surfaces and along the axis lines and at theregions of the bases of the great toes.

It is to be notedthat-here the top surface of each full sole is flat-and therheight of :said'full sole around at the heel regions to oifer the sloping undersurfaces which are off the ground when the full soles otherwise rest on level ground.

' The inclined undersurfaces 20 may be across the entire heel region or less than the entire face as at 27 to any practical extent, but always to give suflicient good bearing surface when stood on- Both heel-less full soles are made identical, except that one is right and the other is left.

When as in Figs. 11-13, the bottom member 29 of the shoe 30 is provided with a heel 31, the undersurface of such heel is sloped as herein taught.

The undersurfaces of all shoes herein may be denticulated in any desired design and if desired, may be provided with downwardly extending spikes commonly used in golf shoes, but not shown herein.

This invention is capable of numerous forms and applications without departing from the essential features herein disclosed. It is therefore intended and desired that the embodiments herein shall be deemed illustrative and not restrictive and that the patent shall cover all patentable novelty herein set forth; reference being had to the following claims rather than to the specific description herein to indicate the scope of this invention.

I claim:

1. In a shoe, a bottom member for aiding a golfer to assume the correct foot position for play; the top surface of said bottom member being horizontal transversely thereof when the shoe is in normal upright position; the undersurface of the heel region of the bottom member sloping downwardly from the inner lateral edge towards the outer lateral edge thereof with the sloping undersurface being off the ground when the shoe is in normal upright position; said shoe being tiltable from normal upright position to a position wherein the sloping undersurface contacts the ground whereupon the angle exterior the shoe which the inner lateral face of the shoe makes with the ground when the shoe is upright, is decreased.

2. An article as defined in claim 1, wherein the sloping undersurface of the heel region of the bottom member extends to the outer lateral edge thereof.

3. An article as defined in claim 1, wherein the top surface of the bottom member is flat from its rear edge up to at least its toe region, when the shoe is in normal upright position.

4. An article as defined in claim 3, wherein the sloping undersurface of the heel region of the bottom member extends to the outer lateral edge thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,798,807 Posner Mar. 31, 1931 1,972,249 Schneider Sept. 4, 1934 2,052,115 Shulman Aug. 25, 1936 2,078,626 Bauer Apr. 27, 1937 2,135,504 Hack Nov. 8, 1938 2,160,238 Turner May 30, 1939 2,216,630 Sabel Oct. 1, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS 221,295 Switzerland May 31, 1942 

